What He Doesn't Know Will Hurt Him Anyway
by Moderndaydrifter
Summary: The saying goes, ‘what you don’t know won’t hurt you,’ but for some it’s completely opposite. What you don’t know –will- hurt you.
1. Chapter One

_A/N: For those of you who are reading Deep Blue, I am still very much writing on that story, this is just something I had to start writing, my muse wouldn't let it go! Hope you enjoy!_

_Special thanks: CCA, you rock! Thanks for helping me out and telling me what sounded good and what not, can't thank you enough! And to Laurie Lasagna also! Can't leave out MonaCK, she helped spark the idea!_

_Summary: The saying goes, 'what you don't know won't hurt you,' but for some it's completely opposite. What you don't know –will- hurt you._

_Rating: PG-13_

_Disclaimer: Don't own them, I just get to borrow them for awhile._

**_What He Doesn't Know Will Hurt Him Anyway:Chapter One_**

"_We'll say he was working on his car. Dad always worked on his car."_

Finney sat back in his recliner as he drank down the rest of his beer. He was attempting to watch an old movie on American Movie Classics, but his mind kept wondering to his father's death. People at work would say that he was over the death now, and had moved on, but truth was that he was very good at hiding it.

"_Everyone keeps looking at us, like they know."_

"_Of course they know Finney, he was in his suit."_

He couldn't accept the fact that his father went out the way he did. He died a coward, he couldn't face up to his problems like a man, and he left his brother, sister, and most importantly his mother in a very bad situation. He gripped the neck of the beer bottle and placed it on the coffee table in front of him.

Back before he became a cop he always thought his father did the right thing. It never occurred to him that he was dirty, not one single bit. The whole reason he had become a cop was because he wanted to be like his father, to get the scum off of the streets the right way. It was a huge blow to his stomach when he found out the truth about CT.

Now that he did have the facts, looking back at events that happened when he was younger started to make sense and fall into place for him. The nights his father would come home really late, the private phone calls he'd get that he'd take outside, the way he'd dodge Brendan's questions about the job trying to shelter him as best as he could. It was strange to think that there was such a time that he was so naïve to not even realize what his father was up to, it almost made him extremely mad. There wasn't anything he could do about it now; hopefully his father's sins were buried with him.

* * *

He got to work the next day about 15 minutes early. For some reason there were times when he still felt pretty uncomfortable around authority figures that had worked with his father, especially Sully, who seemed to make it a point everyday to bring something up. 

Walking into the locker room Sully was the first person he saw. He gave a small nod his way and went to his locker, hoping deep inside that for one day Sully wouldn't feel the need to say anything to him. Of course he wasn't that lucky, and he heard Sully's beaming voice echo throughout the locker room walls, only this time it was actually something nice.

"How's your mother doing?" Sully remembered seeing Mrs. Finney come into the station from time to time, trying to see her husband as much as she could since he wasn't at home that often.

Finney looked up from his shoes. "She's fine. She's strong." He was thankful Ty came in to take some of the heat off of him. "Hey Davis."

"Hey Finney." He placed his bag in his locker and looked at Finney smirking. "You missed a good time last night at Haggerty's."

Finney nodded as he finished buttoning up his shirt, walking to the mirror where he smoothed out some hair that was sticking up. "Yeah? What did I miss?"

Sully grumbled before Davis could even respond to Finney's question. "Brace yourself, it's bound to be a riveting story."

Davis ignored him, finally answering Finney. "Not a whole lot, had a drinking contest."

"No, at Haggerty's, what are the odds?" Sully retorted as he exited out of the locker room, not even giving the two younger cops a chance to rebute to his remark.

"Was Grace there?" Finney didn't want to come off sounding like a kid in high school, trying to get the latest gossip but the question just slipped out of his mouth. The moment he said it, he wished he could just suck the words right back into his mouth.

Davis shot him a huge grin, giving a playful giggle. "Yep, she was there. She asked where you were." Davis paused. "Where exactly were you anyway?"

"My mother's house." He didn't want to say why, so he left it at that, hoping Davis wouldn't ask anymore of it, which he didn't. "I'll see you in role call."

* * *

The weather outside was muggy. The humidity seemed to be right at 100, almost like you couldn't breath outside. The minute you took a step you were already sweating. The clouds above hanged low over the high rises, making the city of New York picturesque, almost like someone had taken a paint brush and let their imagination fly. 

"Oh boy, today is going to be busy." Ty replied, looking up at the clouds as they got in 5-5 David to start the day.

"How do you know, the shift barely started."

Davis shook his head. "Finney my man, you have a lot to learn." He turned the keys in the ignition, listening to the v8 motor turn on with a loud hum. "It's one of the first hot days this city is having since winter time."

Finney shrugged. "So?"

"So that means everyone is going to be outside today." He pointed to the side of the street, at a stoop where several people sat, playing cards and drinking out of amber bottles. "Stoops get occupied, people drink. I don't think I need to say much more."

Finney watched as some kids sprayed each other down with water guns. "Yeah, I remember, back when I was a kid we'd go down the street to our neighbor's and bust open the fire hydrant." He smiled at the thought. "My dad sure did kick my ass when he found out what I was up to, but it was worth it."

"Yeah, I think every kid that has grown up in New York has done that at least once. Kind of like the way kids down in the south swim in their stock tanks that water their horses."

Finney laughed, looking out the window again, this time spotting two men violently arguing with each other. "Stop the car Davis."

Before Davis even brought the car to a complete stop Finney was out, making his way up to the two men that now resorted to shoving. "Woah, what's going on?" Finney asked, backing up a few people that had gathered around. Davis tried pulling one of the men away, but he just moved closer to the other guy.

"He cheated at five card draw!" The man gritted his teeth as he wiped some sweat from his brow. "He's crazy if he thinks he's going to get away with cheating me!"

"How do you know he was cheating?" Finney hated to think that Davis was right, but just by the looks of this the day would be very long for both of them.

"He's won 3 hands in a row! I know he's not that lucky!"

The stench of alcohol was evident on both of the men's breath. Davis couldn't help but smirk. "Sir, 3 hands isn't that much of a streak. You two need to split up and go home before you both do something you will regret."

"I'll never regret kicking his ass. Besides, I'm not going back to my house until the sun goes down, I don't got no air conditioner."

"Okay, well go play poker with someone else. If we see you two around each other again, we are taking you in. And believe me, the climate out here is a lot more comfortable than a cell." Finney backed away. "Go on, split up."

The one man that had been doing all the talking nodded. "Alright, I'll let it ride for now."

"I told you it'd be like this Finney." Ty looked down at his watch. "And it's only 3:20."

They didn't notice but the whole time they were at the scene a man was standing on the corner, watching every move both of the officers made, taking notes down as well as peering into a set of small binoculars. He turned to walk away when he saw their RMP was on the move again, he'd catch up with them later.

* * *

"5-5 David, respond to 42nd street, apartment 21, domestic dispute in progress." 

Finney read the look on Ty's face, and before he could even say anything, Finney broke in. "Spare me the I told you so's, now I'll know for next time." He queued his radio, "10-4 Central, on our way." He looked at his watch. "I gotta learn to stop glancing at the clock."

They made it to the scene where a couple was out on the curb, screaming at the top of their lungs. "I wonder why a change of weather makes people crazy." Ty replied, shaking his head as they both got out of the car. "Okay, you two need to back away from each other now!"

"That's going to be the quote of the day, I can already tell." Finney then became serious. "Tell us what's going on, one at a time." He pointed at the lady, "You go first."

"He's trying to take my kids. He knows he doesn't have custody of them."

"That's crap and you know it Sheryl, I just came by to see them. She won't even let me go in the house to say hi."

Both Finney and Davis stood back, letting them get the full story, as long as it didn't get out of control. "Okay, continue." Davis said, folding his arms over his chest. This was all too amusing for him right now, even though it was a serious situation.

"He can't see the kids when it's not a scheduled visit, the judge said that. I'm just trying to stick to the rules so I don't risk losing my kids to this loser!"

That's when Finney broke in. "She's right you know, if the court ruled only scheduled visits then you can't be showing up like this. Things like this start happening, making your kid's life a living hell."

The man gave a sarcastic laugh, "Oh and you, you are going to come here and tell me what I can and can't do? This is none of your business. Why don't you go write some parking tickets or something and let me handle this myself."

"From the looks of it you aren't handling it well at all. We are going to have to ask you to leave before we take you in."

The man backed away, but before Finney knew it the man sent a backhand across Finney's face, causing his nose to bleed. "Yeah, you are not going to tell me what to do you son of a bitch!" Finney immediately felt the pain from the sharp blow, quickly putting his hands over the blood flow. Before he could even do anything Davis had the man in custody.

"Big mistake pal, we were going to let you go, let you out of this with a warning."

"So what changed your mind?" The man gritted his teeth, trying to fight Davis off.

"You gotta be kidding me! You just assaulted a police officer; your ass is going to jail! That's a big no no in this city!" Davis looked over at Finney. "You okay man?"

"Yeah yeah." He glared at the man. "I swear these jagoffs get stupider every day."

The same man that was watching them earlier was now down the street of this scene, and he couldn't help but laugh at what he had just watched. Young Officer Finney, getting beat up by a lowlife, it couldn't get better than that. That's when his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Where are you at?" The raspy voice on the other end asked, growing impatient.

"I'm just watching Finney Junior, scoping out his day. I'll think I'll run by his mother's house later, see if I can catch anything."

* * *

Finney was glad that the day was over, it seemed like every second he was looking at his watch. Davis was completely right, the hot weather brought out every moron the city had to offer, and it seemed they came into contact with every one of them. 

"Hey Finney, a few of us are going to Haggerty's, you wanna come?"

"I don't know man, I might need to go to my mother's."

Davis smirked, "I'm sure Grace is going, don't want to miss her again tonight now do you?"

"Alright alright, you convinced me. I'll see you over there."

* * *

He walked into the bar, not sure if he should be here but if he went to his mom's he'd only be sitting around, watching her cry and feeling awkward, so this was a good choice. He immediately looked around the room for Grace, but at first she couldn't be spotted. He pushed through a crowd of people dancing to "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and made his way to the bar. 

"Grace is over there!" Davis yelled over the music.

"That obvious that I'm looking for her?"

"C'mon man, you look like a little lost puppy dog looking for their owner."

Finney didn't even respond, and he walked to the back corner where she was talking with some other medics. He smiled at her, handing her a beer. "You looked like you could use a drink."

She gladly accepted it. "Hey Brendan." She pulled him for a light kiss. "Glad you could make it tonight."

"Me too, it's good seeing you."

* * *

Mrs. Finney was dosing off into sleep when she heard a car door open below her bedroom window, down in the driveway. She got up out of bed, peeking out the window. "Who the hell would be coming to the house this late?" She continued to watch as the dark character got out of the car, but didn't proceed to the front door. They just stood beside their vehicle, staring up at the house. 

Her heart began to beat out of her chest, wondering what was going on. It definitely wasn't Brendan coming for a visit; it was someone she did not recognize. She grabbed for her phone on her nightstand, dialing Brendan's cell phone. It rang, but his voicemail picked up. "Shit." She then left a message after he was done talking. "Brendan, this is mom, I need you to come over here when you get this message!" She hung up, hoping he'd get it soon. She continued to stare out the window, and now the man was walking through the yard, still keeping his eyes on the house. "Dammit Brendan, where are you?"

* * *

"I'll be right back." Finney said, leaving his beer with Grace. "I gotta hit the head." He walked into the bathroom, noticing he had a missed call on his cell phone. He opened the face of it up listening to the short message; the voice of his frantic mother came over the line. He gripped the phone tightly, almost breaking it. What could be going on? Was she just having one of her panicked moments? He wouldn't know for sure until he went to check it out. 

He walked up to Grace. "Hey, I gotta get going, my mom just called." He patted her back. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Is everything okay?"

He shrugged, not even sure himself. "I don't know."

* * *

The prowler was still out there, and Mrs. Finney was growing extremely scared that she didn't even want to move out of her bed. That's when she went to her younger son's room, checking to make sure he was still safe. She also looked in on her daughter, and both were sound asleep. 

The man outside finally walked back to his car, getting in. He had done enough looking for the night and drove away. Mrs. Finney sighed, now looking from the window in the living room. She slid down to the floor, clutching the phone to her chest. The sound of another car door made her frantic again, and she was too scared to even look this time. She heard a key go into the lock, and in came her son.

"Mom, what's going on?" From the looks of things he thought she was having another attack.

"Oh my God, Brendan." She stood up, hugging him tightly. He could feel her body shiver, and he knew something was definitely wrong.

"Mom, what happened?"

She swallowed hard. "Brendan, there was a man outside. He parked in the driveway; he watched the house for a good while until you got here! I didn't know what to do."

He let her go, walking out to the yard to see if anything was left behind. She followed, though she was still a tad bit leery to make a step outside. "He stood in the driveway, then he walked through the yard."

"Why didn't you call 911, they would've gotten here faster than I did."

"I panicked."

Something wasn't right about this. He had a bad feeling all day that someone was watching them, and now this at the end of the day, a prowler at his mom's house. It made him angry. "Okay, I'll spend the night tonight. Everything will be okay." He led his mom back in the house, locking the three locks on the door and activating the security system. "Go to sleep mom, it's probably nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing."

He nodded, kissing her on the forehead. "It's ok." He knew it wasn't, but nothing could be done right now. He wasn't sure if his mother hallucinated it, or if it did in fact happen, but for now he'd assume it did, just to keep his family on the safe side.

_TBC….let me know what ya think!_


	2. Chapter Two

_A/N: here's chapter two! Sorry it took awhile to update, but I was trying to put final touches on this! Thanks to the people who responded to the first chapter, it inspired me to try and hurry on this one! You rock, and thanks for letting me know how you feel about it! Also, the show never really mentioned Finney's brother's and sister's names so I'm just sort of making that up!_

_Rating: PG-13, with some strong language, so you have been warned!_

_Summary:The saying goes, 'what you don't know won't hurt you,' but for some it's completely opposite. What you don't know –will- hurt you._

_Special Thanks: Again to CCA, without her it would've taken MUCH longer to produce this chapter, and also it wouldn't be as good! Thanks girlie! Also to MonaCK for helping spark the idea to do a Finney fic like this!_

_Disclaimer: Still don't own them, and if I did believe me you'd know! (winks)_

_**Responses to reviewers can be found at the end of this chapter!**_

_**What He Doesn't Know Will Hurt Him Anyway Chapter Two**_

Finney quickly rolled over, feeling his body slam hard onto the floor. He squinted his eyes, slowly awakening from the hard jolt to his body, only to realize he wasn't at his house, in his room, but in the living room of his mother's house. He looked up, seeing that he fell off the couch. He pushed his body to a sitting position, looking around as if he was on some far distant planet. He looked at his watch, it was 7 AM, and he was now wide-awake.

His memory then came back to him, funny how you forget things when you are still half-asleep. His mother. Supposedly a prowler was outside her house last night. He still wasn't sure if she was being delusional, or if it really happened but either way you could never be too careful.

He found his boots lying under the coffee table, and he grabbed them. He walked to the front yard, feeling that it was still pretty cold out. The sun coming up was beautiful, cascading a radiant shade of orange and purple through the clouds. He usually wasn't up early enough to see this site, and he was somewhat glad he was today. He was hoping that maybe with some shred of luck he could see some evidence left behind by the prowler, maybe footsteps or anything, but the yard looked like it always did, neat and tidy, with every ounce of perfection written across it.

His thoughts were interrupted by his little brother walking outside. He looked a lot like Brendan, they were both small, but his brother was smaller, considering the fact that he was younger, and still in high school. He still hadn't gotten over his father's death, but that was to be expected, he was a lot closer to CT than Brendan ever was.

"Brendan, what are you doing here?"

Finney licked his lips, he didn't want to let his little brother in on what could possibly be happening and scare him. "I just stayed over last night, see how mom was doing." He could tell his brother wasn't getting much rest either. "You doing okay Bryce?"

Bryce nodded. "Yep, I gotta go get ready for school. I'll see you later."

Finney nodded. "See ya." He then walked through the grass, but of course there was nothing. Maybe his mother did dream it or think she saw something. He wouldn't be sure until he saw it with his own eyes. He walked back into the house, trying not to make too much of a sound to wake her up, but it was too late. She was standing on the landing upstairs, looking down at him, her hair was a tangled mess and there was makeup caked under her eyes.

"Mornin' Ma." He began to walk up the stairs but he noticed she was coming down. "Want some breakfast or something?"

She held her hand up. "No, don't feel burdened to stay here Brendan. Go home."

"Burdened? I don't feel burdened." He put the coffee can he had in his hand down. What she just said really hit him hard.

"Just go home Brendan, get some rest. Everything is fine here."

He wasn't exactly sure why she was acting this way, but it was like a whole different person than last night when she was pleading for him to keep them safe. He knew it had to do with her depression, but it was still hard to understand. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, walking towards the door.

"I think someone needs to take their own advice. You need rest." With that comment he opened the door and left. He'd be back later, it was just too awkward to be there at the moment, especially when she told him to leave anyway.

* * *

"Everything okay Brendan?" Ty noticed that he looked rough, but there was no telling with Finney. "You look like hell." 

Finney heard Davis talking, but he didn't even register that he was speaking to him. He just went about his business, staying in his own little world. That's when he felt a hand around his bicep, causing him to jump.

"Hey man, we playing the quiet game today?" Davis then walked back to his locker after he succeeded in getting Finney's attention. "You better grow a brain, I don't want to work with a vegetable today."

Finney nodded. "Sorry, I didn't hear you. Just have a lot on my mind."

Swersky peaked his head in, "Role call in five minutes."

* * *

"Did you go home with Grace last night?" Davis asked, trying to break the silence. He tapped his fingers on the window, glancing at Finney from the passenger side. 

"No, I didn't." Finney didn't want to sound defensive but the last thing he wanted to talk about was last night. He was still debating if it really happened, but nonetheless it had him worried. For one, if it did now he's gotta worry about someone bothering his family, and if it didn't he had to think about his mom's mental health.

"What did you do then?"

Finney glared at him as if he asked a really offensive question. "I went to my mom's." He knew by Davis' facial expressions that he was about to get razzed about it. "And don't say any crass remarks, it was a legitimate reason why I went over there."

"Crass? I was just wondering why you'd do that over hanging out with your girl but you said it's a good reason so that's cool."

"5-5 David, respond to 34th and 3rd, FDNY needs you to direct traffic."

"Perfect."

* * *

"Did you go to the Finney house last night?" Two people were meeting at Battery Park, trying to keep a low profile as they smoothed out their future plans. 

The other person nodded. "Yeah, I didn't see much. The oldest son showed up right after I left. I'm glad I decided to go when I did."

"Shit, we need to do something about him, he's making it where we can't get the information we need. It's a shame CT is dead now, his family has to pay for the dirty deeds he did. He lucked out, being dead is a much better alternative than what is going to happen to the rest of his family."

Both of them smiled as they walked to their car. "Just keep an eye out for the cop. He's the kink in this plan."

* * *

Finney pulled the RMP up to the curb, barely squeezing it in from the pile up of cars that were trying to get through the intersection. The building that was on fire was spreading from one high rise to the next, causing all streets to shutdown. He and Davis saw Sully and Monroe already on scene. 

"We are directing them down 3rd." Sully said as he waved on some more cars, each driver glaring at them as if this was their fault.

Finney didn't want to be here, and he couldn't resist asking, "What do you need us here for? Looks like you have it under control." He couldn't help but look up at the leaping flames, like some rubber necker, trying to be nosey.

"Because I need you two to go down the block and start directing traffic over there. We have to close down both ends of the street."

They went past the fire, the heat from it could be felt all the way down on the ground where they were, and it was several stories up. "Huge ass fire and we get stuck directing traffic." Finney shook his head as he waved cars down 3rd avenue."

Davis smirked. "Well what else could you do? Go into the fire without any gear. That's really smart."

"WOAH! Go down 3rd, this streets closed!" Finney yelled into the window of a small Chevrolet Cobalt as they tried to speed past them. "What gives you the right to drive through when no one else can!"

"Finney you need to chill out, it could be worse."

Before Finney could respond, a black Lincoln Town Car broke through the traffic jam, speeding up as it came near both officers, the roar of the engine seemed to echo off of the asphalt. "Davis, that car isn't slowing down!" He tried jumping out of the way but his body wouldn't move, it was like he was in shock. Luckily the car came to a screeching halt inches before it came into contact with Finney.

"Get out of the way you fucking cop!" The man behind the steering wheel reared his fist out the window at him, trying to send some kind of warning.

At first Finney just stared into the front window, not sure what to do. Then, his anger took over, and all he could see was red. He walked to the driver's side, gritting his teeth.

"What the hell is your problem? Can you NOT see that we are sending all the traffic around the block?" So bad did Finney want to clock this guy, but he held back. He looked behind to see that Davis was still directing traffic, but also watching him too.

The man glared at Finney, sending chills down his spine from the cold look he sent to him. "Feel lucky, next time I won't stop." That's all the man said, and with that comment he backed up, taking the car down the detour they were sending everyone else to. Finney felt sick, something was up with that, just by the look in the man's face. It wasn't just some random driver mad about the delay, there was something else behind it. Little did Finney know that it was the same guy that was present in his mother's yard the night before, only this time he came face to face with him.

* * *

Finney couldn't get the recent event from that call out of his head. The hollow look in the man's eyes, the way his voice sounded like thunder through his ears. His instincts were screaming at him that he needed to get the man's information, but he didn't even think about that until it was too late. At least he knew what kind of car it was, but that wouldn't be much help. There were thousands of black Lincoln Town Cars in the city, so that would be useless. 

_"Feel lucky, next time I won't stop." _What exactly did he mean by next time? Finney ran his hands over his face and through his hair, trying to not think about it, for all he knew it could just be his imagination and the man just had that intimidating effect on people.

"Earth to Finney, you okay man?" Davis waved his hand in front of Finney's face. "Good thing I'm not letting you drive or you'd have ran us into the East River."

Finney finally blinked; looking to the side at Davis, but the blank expression on his face remained. "Huh?" He saw Davis' mouth moving, but he didn't comprehend what he was saying. He might as well have been talking in a foreign language.

"You haven't said a word to me since that call back there. Everything okay?"

Finney closed his eyes, but quickly opened them when he saw the image of the man come into his vision. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just kind of tired." He paused. He wasn't sure if he wanted to ask Davis about it or not, he didn't want Davis knowing the man had him worried but he couldn't resist. "Hey, that black car that nearly hit me, did you happen to see what the jagoff inside looked like?"

Davis nodded. "I got a glance at him, why?"

Finney didn't know how to answer that. "Uhm, well because…I was just wondering. I thought I recognized him from somewhere." He looked away. 'Good cover up you moron' he thought. Now Davis really would wonder.

"Probably some low life we've picked up before. Who knows? You got lucky though, that guy came close."

Finney frowned, looking down at the floorboard. "Yeah I guess. Look, I don't wanna talk about it anymore, I was just wondering if you saw him."

* * *

After the shift Finney had a hard time deciding what to do. He needed to blow off some steam, so it was either go out to a bar and drink, or work out. He walked past the gym before he left, finally making himself push the swinging door open. Luckily there was no one working out that he normally talked to, so he walked past, changing into some sweats and a tank top. He stopped at the punching bag, where he chose to let out all his stress on that. 

He taped his hands up to resist any injury to them from the hard impact, and then he began. He wasn't sure why boxing helped him so much, most of his buddies went running but this is what he chose. Each punch got harder as he sent the 45-pound bag in a circle. He felt the sweat pour from his forehead and some fell into his eyes, slightly stinging them but he ignored it, working harder with every minute. His body screamed for him to stop, but he ignored it, letting his mind work over his body, allowing an internal fight.

He finally stopped, realizing the tape had came loose, and a few of his knuckles were cut up. He wiped them clean, that was normal. He seemed to always overdo it so it was nothing new. He walked to his gym bag, noticing that he had 2 missed calls from Grace on his cell phone. She left one message, asking if he could come over, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to, he might take the day out on her but who knows, she could be what he needed at the moment. He quickly showered, washing the days work away, and headed to her apartment, his mother's safety on his mind.

He gave a small knock on her door, his knuckles screamed out in pain from it. He put his hand in a fist, and that took some of the pain away. She greeted him with a smile, pulling him in.

"Hey Brendan, what have you been up to?"

He looked away as he walked farther into her living room, sitting on the arm of her couch. "I worked out for a little bit. Didn't realize you had called me until I was done."

She nodded, noticing his mangled hand. "What did you do, beat the hell out of a suspect today?" She walked to her kitchen, grabbing an ice pack from the freezer. "Put some ice on it, that's going to swell up."

He looked at the pack like it was some foreign object, but then gently placed it on his knuckles. It sent an instant relief to them. "Nah, I just beat the hell out of a punching bag."

She noticed he wasn't the normal Brendan she hung out with after work, his usual smiling face was now creased with worry. "There something you wanna talk about?" She sat beside him on the couch, grabbing his other hand.

"How was your day?" He knew that she could read him well, but he tried to cover it up as best as he could with that random question.

"It was fine. It'd be better if you told me what's going on."

He stood up, pacing in front of her. "What makes you think something is wrong?"

"I can just tell." She grabbed a small pillow from beside her and tossed it around. "It's cool if you don't want to talk about it, I just wanted to let you know I'm here if you needed it. I mean, you left Haggerty's in a hurry last night and said something was up with your mother. Just making sure it's ok now."

Finney's stomach jolted. "I think she was just having one of her moments. She feels so insecure with dad being gone." He leaned down to kiss Grace. "I should probably be getting over there and make sure she's okay tonight. I don't like her acting like that around my brother and sister."

Grace kissed him back. "Okay. We should go have lunch tomorrow."

He nodded, "Just call me."

He got on the elevator, the doors quickly began to shut when someone stuck their arm in, trying to catch the elevator before it went down. The man squeezed in, giving Finney a small smile, or more of a relieved one that he caught it. Finney didn't smile back, but studied the man. It then hit him like a freight train; it was the same guy that nearly ran him over earlier. He backed away, to the back of the elevator wall. His heart began to beat out of his chest. Was it a coincidence or was something going on?

The man slowly turned his head to the side, giving Finney that same glare that was now etched in his mind forever. "I had a talk with your mom today." He flashed an evil smile, exposing his ivory teeth.

Finney stayed up against the wall, the thought of that bastard near his mother made him want to shoot him dead right there.

"So quiet? Your mom sure wasn't." He looked away, laughing an evil laugh that made the hair on Finney's neck raise. "She thought I was a salesman, she let me right in."

Finney finally came to his senses, moving towards the man. "You stay the fuck away from my mother." He slammed the man up against the adjacent wall, moving in to choke him. He gripped his neck, but didn't put enough pressure on it to do much harm.

"Or?" The stench of alcohol on the man's breath made Finney back away a tad bit.

"Or I'll bury your ass."

The man gave out another raspy laugh. "Yeah, we'll see who gets buried first." The elevator came to a stop on the ground level, and the man slipped out, not saying another word, leaving Finney there to think about what just happened. Now he knew for sure it wasn't some angry driver, but someone wanted something from him, but what? He should've chased after the man, but at least now he had some type of visual, if that would be helpful, or if it was already too late…

* * *

_**Responses to Reviewers:**_

_**Detective Faith Boscorelli – **I'm glad you love it! I'll try to keep up the good work, that's my goal! I hope you keep reading, thanks for the review!_

_**Cuddy Cabin – **Yay, we Finney lovers have to stick together! I'm glad you are happy to see a story about him (there's really not much out there on the guy) Did I update soon enough? I'm trying to write fast, but not too fast so it's somewhat good! Thanks for your review, I appreciate it!_

_**3wFanatic – **I updated Deep Blue for ya! Haha off topic from this story but just letting you know! (smiles) Woohoo, this is different which is a good thing right? LOL, I'm trying to come up with fresh ideas, and thanks for reviewing this fic as well as Deep Blue, it's greatly appreciated!_

_**Crazypenguin4 – **Hope this chapter was as good as the first! Thanks for your review! Happy reading!_

_**Somegurl1081 – **I'm glad you like the way I portray Finney, it's not an easy task to get right on character so hope I keep that up for you! Glad to hear you are a Finney fan also, that's points in my book! Happy reading and thanks for replying with such great comments!_

_**Cosmic Castaway – **(smiles evilly) yep, getting into Finney's head is fuuuuun! No wonder he has those constant headaches! Hehe! That's good news to hear that my work is improving, because that would be such a downer if things got worse…I'd have to quit! LOL! Thanks for your kind words my BROTHA FROM ANOTHA MOTHA! (smiles)_

_**Quacksd – **(cue the scary music) This chapter more scary for you? LOL thanks for enjoying it, hope I updated it soon enough for ya! _

_Again, thanks to all the great replies from everyone! Reviews make me so happy, and let me know how I'm doing so I can make this story the very best! Thanks! _


	3. Chapter Three

_A/n: Not sure how many people remember this story, but I'll summarize what has happened so far for those that read but forget because I'm a big procrastinator and took forever updating it! So if you forgot, it's my fault! Haha_

_Rating: PG-13_

_Disclaimer: Don't own them, wish I did!_

_Special Thanks: Of course to Cosmic Castaway again. You awesome girl you! And to all my reviewers, who keep my muse alive! Rock on guys!_

_**Previously: **Finney finds out that someone is stalking his family. A man posed as a salesman to get into his mother's house. He also confronted Finney in the elevator about it. A group of men are after the Finney family, and Brendan doesn't know why…hence the title What He Doesn't know Will Hurt Him Anyway. Hope that refreshes you on the story a tad bit, if not so sorry for not updating sooner! I'm such a rotten girl! LOL_

_Anyway I'll Shutup now and let you get to chapter three…._

_**What He Doesn't Know Will Hurt Him Anyway Chapter Three**_

Finney stayed in the elevator a few seconds more, but finally came to his senses and quickly got out, just in time because the elevator doors began to quickly shut. He looked down the hallway, trying to spot the man that had just threatened his life, but it was so crowded with people.

He made his way to the front exit, walking out onto the steps. Looking down the street he saw nothing, which made him panic. Had he done something to a suspect? He had no clue what was causing this, and why was this man bringing his family into it? So many questions that needed to be answered. He then made his way down the street, hoping maybe the man was going to stick around the neighborhood but of course Finney had no such luck.

His next plan of attack was his mother's house. Maybe the man had said some things to his mother that would be vital to this whole situation. Hopefully the man got careless, and spouted off some information. He could only try and find out.

He got to her house in no time, barging in without even knocking. She was sitting on the couch, a coffee mug in hand. Bryce and his younger sister Jena were sitting on the love seat, and they were watching some old movie that he didn't recognize.

His mother read the concern on his face. "Brendan, what's going on?"

"We need to talk." He grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the living room, and out of earshot of his younger siblings. He knew his intrusion would alarm them, but they didn't have to know why.

He took her upstairs to her bedroom and shut the door where they both sat on the bed. She grabbed his hand, her brow was creased.

"You are scaring me Brendan, what's the matter?"

He took in a deep breath, almost hesitating to tell her. The room seemed to crowd in around him like how he felt on the elevator when the man said the things he did. He stood up, pacing back and forth around her bed before he finally broke the silence.

"Ma, did a salesman come to your door?"

She arched her eyebrow, instantly remembering a man that claimed to sell vacuum cleaners. "Yes, he came by earlier today."

"Shit," he muttered. "Do you remember what he looked like?"

"About 6'1", kind of heavy set. Receding hairline." She studied her son. He wouldn't sit still for two seconds. "How did you know about that?"

Finney finally sat down, looking his mother right in the eyes. "He wasn't a salesman." He ran over his hair that was now moist from him sweating. "I don't have a lot of information, I just know that he's not what he claimed to be."

His mother's eyes widened. "How do you know this?" She had been married to a cop for many years, and she knew better than to question some kind of hunch they got, but this was really freaking her out. "Brendan…"

"Just trust me mom. I'm going to spend the night here again tonight. Don't let Bryce and Jena know yet because I know they'll freak out. Just don't let anyone in the house, make sure every door is locked. Dad showed you how to shoot a gun right?"

Mrs. Finney nodded. "Yes."

"Okay I'm going to go get one of his guns out of his gun closet, you keep it with you at all times in the house. Keep it hidden of course. Anything happens you call me, I don't care what time it is."

"Bryce and Jena will eventually have to know. And me too, I need to know what's going on."

Brendan went to her closet, pulling out one of CT's old 9 millimeters. "I'll tell you when I know myself."

* * *

Finney woke up the next morning around 8. He had only slept around 2 hours the entire night. Every sound he heard had woken him up. He was extremely hesitant to leave his family alone in their house, but they knew how to handle things. When his father was alive he made it a point to show them things, 'One good thing my father did for his family.' Finney thought as he walked down the street, keeping his eyes peeled for everything in front of him. 'Maybe they are just after me and they are using my family to distract me.' He shook his head; he needed to stop driving himself so crazy.

The only thing he could think to do next was go to the station house and start up some research. He knew for a fact that looking through mug books was usually a big waste of time, but it was worth a shot. Maybe the guy had a rap sheet a mile long and he'd be really easy to find.

He tried to walk through the entrance unnoticed, thankfully all the people that were there at the moment were part of the morning shift, and knew he was a cop but didn't know him enough to start asking questions. That's the last thing he needed at the moment, someone barging in on him when he didn't even know the full story.

He slowly walked up the stairs; the effects of his sleep patterns were starting to take effect on him because just the mere incline made his legs burn and his lungs hurt. He opened the door to an office where thankfully it was vacant. Sitting down at one of the desks, he let out a heavy sigh as he reached for the first mug book to sift through. Opening the fist page he glared at the pics. Every guy seemed to look the same which made it worse for his attention span, but just thinking about how the bastard brought his family into it made him continue to turn the pages and observe.

"What are you doing here?"

Finney quickly looked up, the sound of her voice alone made him jump. He tried to hide that she had scared him but she read him like a book.

"Jumpy today are we?"

Finney didn't really know Cruz that well, but he had seen enough of her out on the street and with other officers to know that she wasn't the best person to try and get along with. He leaned back in the chair, flashing her a blank stare.

"Just here looking at some things, doing some research." Just his luck, he didn't want to run into anyone, and here he ran into her. "I'll be out of your way in a little bit."

She sat down across from him, folding her arms over her chest and flashing him the most arrogant grin he had ever seen. "Your shift isn't until 3:00, so I'm going to ask you again, what are you doing here at 8:30?"

"I should ask the same thing for you."

She leaned forward, now placing her hands on the surface of the desk, as she got closer to him. "I'm a sergeant, I do not have to explain myself. Are you trying to hide something Officer Finney?" She sat back again, her inane grin was still held on her lips.

He stared back at her. "No, I'm not hiding shit. I'm just looking through some things, doing a little research on a guy."

"What's his name, maybe I know him."

Finney shook his head no. "Nah, it's ok. You don't know him anyway." She was really starting to get on his nerves, and he was already irritable as it is. "I'm fine Cruz, the sooner you leave me alone the sooner I'll be out of your way." He turned back down to the book, but was disturbed yet again with her hand blocking the page he was looking at. She walked around to his side of the desk.

"Are you doing an unauthorized investigation, because last time I checked beat cops have to turn that kind of stuff over to the big guys?"

Her last comment lit his fuse, and he quickly stood up, causing her to step back from his sudden movements. He gritted his teeth as he continued to walk towards her, but she finally stood her ground, looking him up and down. They both stood there when Finney finally spoke up.

"You know Cruz, I never really got to know you. I've seen you out on the street working, doing your thing, and I've heard people talk about you. Before today I always thought it was just rumors, but you've proven me wrong." He walked back to the desk, standing behind it again. "Now, if you'd shut your damn mouth for a few seconds, I can get this shit done and get out of here." He plopped down hard in the chair; not even believing he had just spoke to her like that. He was stressed though, and stressful times caused him to act that way, even when he didn't try to be.

Cruz stood in the same spot, her mouth practically hanging open from his blow up. Something was going on with Finney. She knew he was a hot head about things but this was a side she never had seen before. She walked out of the room, mad and also wondering what was going on.

* * *

Finney decided to give up on the mug books later that day, about an hour before it was time for him to go into work. He needed to find the man's name out, which would make things so much easier for him. He stared in his mirror at his apartment, looking at the image in front of him. He didn't like what he saw. Black circles took over the edges of his eyes; he looked as if he hadn't slept in months. He ran some water over his face, letting the luke-warm drops fall over his skin and drop back into the sink below. He knew he was being watched. They were probably somewhere outside his apartment right now, peeking in, invading his privacy.

He had sat and wondered what the hell it was he had done to this man to make him do this. He would've remembered his face if it were one of the guys he collared, so that was out of the question. Maybe it was a family member of a suspect. Or maybe it was nothing, maybe it was just the guy at the scene of the fire that got pissed, and was playing a joke. Really harsh joke to be playing, but Finney was trying to think up each possibility as best as he could, or making himself insane for that matter.

He glanced at the alarm clock on his nightstand as he walked back into his room, noticing it was 2:30. Grabbing his duffel bag he hurried out the door, not even noticing a different man standing at the end of the hall. Finney was right, they had been watching him, his every move.

The man pulled a cell phone out of his pocket, dialing '3' on his speed dial, and waited patiently for the man on the other end to answer.

"Hey Chase, it's me. Junior is headed to work."

The man on the line smiled. "Okay, begin the plan. Little Junior is going to have a rough night tonight."

* * *

"So Finney, Grace keeping you up all night or something?"

Finney quickly jolted his head to the side, glaring at Davis. "What makes you think that?"

"Just taking notice to your physical appearance. You don't look too hot my man."

Finney ran his fingers over his hair, sighing. "Davis, I'm really not in the mood for it today. Let's just lay low and get through the day without any problems." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, but didn't keep them closed for long, because the image of the man in the elevator flashed into his view, causing him to jump.

"You sure you are okay Finney, you sure are jumpy. Every single sound the car makes, or every person that looks suspicious makes you uneasy."

"It's nothing! Just drive and don't worry about it!" He wondered to himself how long he could do this, hide it from the people he worked with. If it continued, he probably would need to tell someone, but right now the secret stayed buried in his worried mind. It sucked too, because here he was being a jerk to everyone, when he didn't even intend to be.

Before they knew it, the time was around 8:30. Davis did what Finney asked, and they had laid low for most of the day, mainly dealing with simple things like domestics and calls like that. Finney made it a point to call his mother every hour, but hid it from Davis well. Every time he called, he would go to the restroom, or make up some excuse that didn't leave Davis guessing. So far the day had been going good, his mother hadn't seen or heard anything suspicious, and Finney was able to relax a tad bit.

"Squad 55, respond to 2-7-9 Lafayette Street, structure fire in progress."

At first it didn't register to Finney, but when he heard them respond back to verify the address, his stomach sank, making what he had previously eaten come up, but he held it in.

"Davis…" His eyes widened as sweat began to pour down his face.

"What is it man?" Davis didn't recognize the address, he hadn't been at the Finney residence enough.

At first Finney couldn't spit the words out to say it. "That's uh, that's my mom's place."

"Where FDNY got dispatched?"

Finney nodded. "Get us over there, right now." He sat up in his seat, keeping an eye on the speedometer as Davis pulled out into traffic, flying past people. Finney flipped on the lights and sirens, but that didn't help much. People still wouldn't move out of the way, it's as if people forgot what it meant when an emergency vehicle flying by with lights and sirens meant.

All he could think about was his family was still in the house, burning to death, wondering where he was to help them like he said he would. Davis pulled onto the block where the house was located, and the flames were so high you could already see them. The car came to a sudden stop and Finney jumped out, quickly walking up to where all the engines were. He was in awe at the situation, it almost didn't seem real to him. Lieutenant Walsh put his hand up, pushing Finney back.

"Keep back Officer, we've got it under control."

Finney stared at the orange flames, seeing how quickly they ate up his childhood home. "My family is in there."

"What?"

"Did anyone get out?"

Walsh shook his head. "We were told no one was in it."

That's when Finney pushed past them, his anger and fear made him run in, despite how hot and high the flames were. He knew for a fact his mom was there, he had just got done talking to her about 15 minutes earlier. DK ran in after him, but Finney was too fast as he dodged some flying debris. He held his hand over his mouth, the smoke was overwhelming, and already he began to cough. His lungs felt as if they were on fire also, causing him to gag.

"Mom!" Guilt set in on him; he should've been here to get them out.

He heard someone coughing, and quickly picked up what was once their coffee table. He moved some other things he could, but the flames began to grow even higher, causing him to fall backwards. He landed on his back, and to his surprise his mother was right there beside him, half-awake. Her face was covered in suit from being stuck in there.

He tried getting up to lift her, but he could barely move his body. "Mom, can you move for me?"

She could barely hear him over the roaring of the fire that was eating away the walls around them. "Brendan…"

"Stay awake mom, where's Bryce and Jena?"

"They aren't here. Bryce took Jena to the store, they haven't got back…" She could barely talk, each word seemed to take a lot of breath from her lungs as if she had just got done running a marathon.

That's when DK found them, pulling Finney up first, and then Marion. He draped her over his shoulder. "Grab a hold of my jacket Finney, and don't let go." Finney did as he was told, and DK led them out, dodging more falling things as they made it to the front door. Finney let go of him, but still followed as they took Marion to the ambulance.

Grace was there, but Finney ignored her as he watched them begin to work on his mother. She had a gash on her forehead where something had hit her, and she could barely stay awake from the smoke inhalation. "Finney, get over here so we can check you out."

He shook his head no, keeping his eyes on his mother. "Is she going to be okay?"

Carlos looked up from Marion to him. "She's okay, she just needs to get to the hospital. Let Grace check you out, you took in a lot of smoke."

Finney moved back, walking away from the ambulance as he looked at what was left of the house that was still up in flames as the fire department worked to put it out. He looked at Grace who was talking to him, but he couldn't even hear her. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion for him. He knew this was serious now, when someone resorted to arson. He couldn't wait to get face to face with him again, he wouldn't let him slip through his fingers so easily, nope he was going to pay.

"Brendan let me check you out!" Grace grabbed his arm, turning him away from the fire. "I just want to help."

Finney quickly jerked his arm away, flashing her a blank stare. "I don't want your help. Leave me alone! Just leave me alone!" He turned around, walking to the RMP. "C'mon Davis, we are going to the hospital." He got in the driver's seat, slamming the door hard.

Finney stared out of the rearview mirror as they drove off, taking in the last image of the house he'd ever see. That was where he grew up, spent all his childhood, and it was gone just like that, for reasons he didn't even know. He needed to find the man fast and get some questions answered, before someone ended up getting killed…

TBC...

* * *

**_Since I can no longer give you guys individual messages for your reviews I'll just say yet again thanks for your interest in this story! You know who you are if you reviewed or sent me emails, you guys are the best! Take care and go easy, hope you are still into this story! _**


	4. Chapter Four

_A/n: Hey guys, not sure how many people are reading this but it's been fun for me to write so here's another chapter! Thanks to those who are reading! Please forgive me for any mistakes..I have gone through and edited but I'm sure I missed some!_

_Disclaimer: Still don't own them!_

_Special Thanks: To all of you who have reviewed it so far. Thanks for keeping your interest up, your support alone has helped a lot. Also to Cosmic Castaway and Laurie Lasagna for their help on adding things in and what not, you guys rock!_

_On to the story._

**_What He Doesn't Know Will Hurt Him Anyway Chapter Four_**

The drive over to the hospital seemed so long to Finney. All he could see was the high flames that charred his former home, and his mom who was fighting for oxygen when he found her. He felt so guilty too. He had told her before he left for the day that he'd be there and he wouldn't let anything happen, and she almost died. What pained him the most was the fact that he had no idea who was doing this, or why for that matter. It was always so scary when there was no known motive.

They finally got to the hospital and Finney helped the medics unload his mother and wheel her into the ER. He was very thankful that she was going to be okay, things could've gone a lot worse than they did. They took her to exam room one and he followed, despite the fact that he seemed like he was in the way.

"She's going to be okay Finney, go wait outside." Proctor gave him a small push towards the door as they placed an oxygen mask on her face and began to work on the abrasion on her forehead.

He stood and stared for a moment longer, then finally was able to move his legs back out into the open. There stood the people he didn't want to see at the moment. Grace, Ty, and Carlos all looked at him, each uncertain as to how to act towards him.

"Hey man, is there anything we can do?" Ty asked, approaching him.

Before Finney could even respond Bryce and Jena came through the ER doors, each one of them wide eyed from fear; both of them had many questions. Ty backed off, knowing not to interfere with the family.

"Give me your radio, I'll check you out." Ty reached for it.

"Thanks Davis." Finney said quietly as he took his siblings to the side, dreading the whole conversation that he'd soon have to start with them.

"Where's mom at?" Bryce asked as they sat down in a waiting room.

Finney ran his hands over his face, knowing he couldn't avoid it any longer. "She's being taken care of right now. You can see her in a little bit." He paused as he stood up, pacing back and forth. He could barely look at his brother and sister, and he wasn't even sure why. He just felt like it was his entire fault why everything was happening to them.

"What's wrong Brendan?" Jena could tell that her older brother had a lot on his mind.

"We need to talk. There's some things you guys need to know that I've been keeping from you. I didn't think it'd get this bad but I was wrong yet again." He licked his lips as he tried to read their facial expressions but they just stared, both of them still in awe. "There's some people trying to hurt me, and I think that they are targeting mom to get to me. They have to do with the fire tonight too."

Jena gasped in, Finney expected that though. She was always so tender hearted. "What do you mean, hurting you?"

"I'll let you know when I know. But we'll get them soon, this will all stop."

Bryce was a lot like Finney, had a quick temper and was pretty strong. "Where the hell are we supposed to stay while mom's in the hospital? We don't even have a house anymore."

"You are going to stay with mom's sister. I think they'll only hold mom in the hospital overnight anyway. I've already called her, she's.." Before he finished that sentence there stood their aunt.

"Let's go say hi to your mother and get you home." She nodded towards Brendan and walked them over to her exam room.

"I'll see you guys later," Finney said, watching as they walked off. It was going to be a long night for him. He was scared for his siblings, he almost wanted to stay with them to watch them but he felt he'd lead whoever was doing this right to them. Maybe they'd be safe there, in an unknown place that the nuisance didn't know about. He stood up, walking back out, thankful to see everyone gone.

He was caught off guard when Grace came out of the coffee room. He wasn't ready to face her, but there was no getting away from her now, without making it obvious.

"Brendan.." She was still leery of talking to him after his blow up with her back at the fire.

He slowly looked her way. "Hey Grace." He kept his voice low, feeling awkward for the first time around his girlfriend.

"You headed home?"

"Yeah, I need to take a shower, get this suit off of me."

She nodded and remained silent. He was so hard to read sometimes, so she wasn't sure if he was still mad at her or not. She didn't blame him though, he had a rough night and she just needed to give him distance. She began to walk off when she felt his hand on her arm, turning her around to face him.

"I'm sorry about earlier."

A small smile crept across her lips, she was so happy to hear an apology though it wasn't necessary. "No need to say sorry. I should've gave you space. Go home, get some rest." With that she walked off, leaving him alone like he had wanted.

* * *

Finney really dreaded taking the subway home, but he had walked to work earlier and the hospital really wasn't walking distance from his house like the precinct was. He walked down the steps, entering the subway station beneath the city streets of New York. The musty smell hit him like a brick wall, but he was used to it. Subways had smelt like that since he could remember, from being closed up with not very good ventilation systems.

For some reason the subway always made him uneasy. He used them quite a bit when he didn't feel like driving, but it always made his imagination take over. Shady figures made him think, what is this person's story? Why are they the way they are? Not like it was any of his business but he still wondered.

He found the track he needed to wait by, placing the edge of his feet on the large yellow line, the line that warned you if you got any closer the train was more than likely going to push you back from it's speed. The smell of burning rubber could be smelt from the train breaks as they came to screeching halts, the echo of them could be heard throughout the walls, piercing through Finney's mind. He quickly jumped on, hearing the ding from the overhead speakers, warning oncoming passengers to get on; the train was about to take off.

He found a seat right by the door, he wasn't sure why but he felt like he needed to get off of this train as fast as he could. Every person in the same car as him looked suspicious, but what could you expect? It was midnight and he was going to be paranoid because of his whole situation. He leaned his head against the back window; scared to even close his eyes for fear that someone would come and snatch him up. Thankfully his stop was the next one, so he stood up, gripping the metal bars to brace his balance as the subway sped on, finally coming to a stop right around the corner from where his apartment was.

He was the first one off, walking up the stairs and back out onto the streets where the cool night air hit his body. It was cloudy so none of the stars could be seen, not like you could see many anyway with the way the city was lit up.

Finney couldn't help but continue to look over his shoulder. His apartment building was just a few steps away, but it seemed like miles. He bumped into someone as he walked, brushing shoulders with the perfect stranger.

"Watch it asshole!" The man said, glaring at Finney.

Finney nodded his head but didn't say anything, as he finally made it to the front door. He swung it open quickly, nearly running to the nearest elevator. Then he paused as he waited for the elevator to make its way down to him. The last experience he had on an elevator wasn't good, so he found the door to the stairway. His apartment was on the 7th floor but he didn't care. A little exercise never hurt anyone. He took the steps two at a time. Finney never realized it before but the stairwell was a creepy place since hardly anyone used them anymore.

He took in a deep breath as he made it to his exit. A few sweat trickles formed on his forehead and he quickly wiped them away. Grabbing for his keys, he tried sticking the house key in but his hands were trembling to the point where he couldn't even control it, and he dropped them on the floor with a loud clank. Shaking his head, he reached for them, when someone's foot got to them first, covering them up.

Finney's heart began to beat out of his chest as he looked up, seeing a familiar face. It was the man in the elevator that claimed to be a salesman. The same man that nearly ran over him in the middle of the street also. He backed away, not sure what to do.

"Hello Junior." The man flashed a cocky smile, exposing his stained teeth. "I can see you've been expecting me."

Finney swallowed as more sweat formed on his face and neck. The look in his face was like a deer caught in the headlights. He was that scared, though he didn't want to show it. "You aren't too smart." 'Dammit, why did I have to say that?' He thought to himself. His mouth always got him into trouble.

"Oh really, why is that kid?"

"Why are you messing with me and my family?" That statement came out way shakier than he anticipated it to.

"Even in death your father's sins come back to bite people in the ass."

Finney cocked his eyebrow, not exactly sure what the stranger meant by that. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

The man folded his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall, giving out a cocky laugh. "You are smart Junior. You know what kind of man your father was."

Finney gritted his teeth, looking the man up and down. "Well, now I know exactly what you look like. You think it's smart that you have revealed yourself?"

"That doesn't matter. You won't find me. You'll be dead soon enough." The man then stood up to Finney. Finney stood his ground, knowing that would probably be a mistake, the man was much bigger than him and probably a lot more strong but he was never one to back down.

The man cracked his knuckles, the same arrogant look remained on his face. He quickly swung at Finney, but he was quick to react, ducking away from it. He was able to gain enough ground, pushing the man over but the man was quicker than he thought, side swiping Finney to the ground where the man sent repeated kicks to Finney's stomach.

Pain shot through Finney's body from each blow that it encountered. He tried fighting back, but the man overtook him quickly. He was able to get a few good hits in but for the most part he was growing weak as the man continued to inflict pain any way he could on Finney. He felt blood begin to pour from his nose and mouth as the man backhanded him. Finney had been in his share of fights but this was bad. His vision began to grow black. He felt his body suddenly shut down, as he grew motionless on the floor.

The man stood up, staring down at him. "Yeah, and who is stupid in this situation?" He said as if Finney could hear him. He gave his body one last light kick as he walked past, leaving Finney there, face down, in his own pool of blood with no one there to help until the morning when his neighbors would be awake to discover him.

* * *

Grace rolled over in her bed, unable to sleep. She could hear the rain hitting her window hard, as well as the thunder that boomed through her apartment. She glanced at the clock, it was 12:45, and the night seemed to be crawling by. She buried her head under the covers, deep into her pillows. She couldn't help but think about Finney and all of the hell he was going through. She didn't know the whole story behind it, but evidently it was serious when his mother's house got burned down. She hated seeing him like that. He was so on edge, and his mood changed with the drop of a hat but of course she didn't blame him.

She reached for her phone, staring at it as if it were some foreign object. She was having a debate in her head on whether or not to call him. He was usually a night owl so he'd probably still be up, but since he had such a short fuse lately she didn't want to piss him off more. She had a feeling though, like something was terribly wrong. She was always told to go with your gut instinct, that nearly all of the time it was right so she dialed his number and waited as the other end rang. After a few rings his voicemail picked up, and she quickly shut the face of her phone, sitting up in bed.

Maybe he just didn't want to talk right now. That didn't ease her mind though, for some reason her gut was screaming at her, telling her that something was going wrong. She slowly got out of bed, running her fingers through her tangled hair. Walking into her bathroom she saw how tired she looked, but she wasn't preparing herself for a beauty contest and quite frankly she didn't care if Finney saw her this way.

She put on a T-shirt and jeans and grabbed her keys, hurrying out the door. She made it to Finney's house in no time, but he only lived about 10 blocks from her anyway. Thankfully his apartment building didn't have a doorman, so she went in, going on the elevator that Finney previously was scared to get on. It seemed like ages as the elevator edged it's way from floor to floor, and her patience was wearing extremely thin. Finally, the 7th floor light flickered on and she exited, making a beeline towards his door.

She blinked, seeing a body on the floor near his home. Was it just her imagination? She hurried her stride as she got closer, only to realize that it was Finney.

"Oh my God, Finney!" Her instincts didn't fail her; she was glad she had came. "Brendan, can you hear me?" She leaned down, trying to feel if he was breathing, and thankfully he was. She watched his eyes, but there was no evidence that he'd be waking up, so she grabbed her phone, dialing 911. She'd drive him herself but it was always better to get a bus.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"

"Yeah, I need an ambulance. My boyfriend has been beaten up. Lacerations to the face and he's unconscious. I'm at the Oak Grove apartment building on 44th." She looked down at Finney who was still out of it; the blood on his face began to cake heavily. She tried to wait as patiently as she could, but it seemed like years before the ambulance arrived, scooping Finney up, preparing everything needed for the hospital.

"You found him like this?" The unknown medic asked Grace as they lifted his backboard towards the elevator.

"Yeah." She had a blank stare across her face as she followed them. Whoever was doing this to his family was serious, and needed to be stopped soon before someone ended up dead. Their luck would eventually run out.

* * *

_Again thanks to you guys who have taken the time to review the story. Wish I could leave you each a personal message but this is the best I can do now. I owe you guys, thanks again!_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/n: First off I want to say thanks to everyone who has responded to this story. I'm taking my time with this if you haven't noticed, so I can come out with better, more detailed chapters. Thanks to those being patient. Hope you guys are still reading!_

_Special Thanks: Cosmic Castaway and Laurie for reading over this and doing what they do. Thanks for being patient with me ladies, I owe you big time! Also to all of you who take the time to read and reply to let me know how I'm doing, it's greatly appreciated and doesn't g unnoticed._

_Enough of me rambling and on to the story!_

**_What He Doesn't Know Will Hurt Him Anyway Chapter Five_**

Grace went to the hospital daily for her job, but never before had she hated it the way she did. Finney lay in exam room one, unconscious from someone beating him to a bloody pulp. She stared at the closed door, swallowing hard as she saw Proctor come out, taking off her rubber exam gloves. She slowly walked to her, feeling extremely nauseated.

"Proctor, how's he doing?" Her voice was shaky but she didn't care, she couldn't hide being upset about this, no way in hell.

She ran her hands over her hair. "He's still unconscious, but after the pain medication wears off he should be awake. He had some severe blows to his body, but he was lucky. He just needs a few days rest." She noticed the worry on Grace's face, touching her arm. "He's strong, he'll be ok." She turned to walk away, leaving Grace with her thoughts.

Suddenly she felt herself fighting to go in. She had seen him hurt before after that car wreck, and she wasn't sure if she could handle it again. She looked down the hall, wondering if anyone had informed his family about this yet. His poor mother, losing her house and almost her life, then have to be told that her son was in the hospital too. She was probably the one that would tell her also, it'd only be right.

Thinking a few more minutes, she finally placed her hand on the smooth surface of the wooden door, opening it slowly. Inside revealed a motionless Finney, asleep in a hospital bed. She let out a small gasp, seeing the bruising that overtook his face, as well as a few cuts and scrapes. She looked at the IV pump, they had given him morphine which made her breathe easier. At least he wasn't feeling a lot of pain. She gently touched his hand, but stayed silent, hearing the machines do their job.

"It'll be okay Brendan." She felt a tear trickle down her cheek. She knew he'd be okay, but in the long run she was worried. Someone was messing with his family, and she didn't even know the full story. She wiped the tears away when she heard someone enter the room. Looking up quickly, she gave a small smile when she saw it was Davis.

"Hey Grace, how are you doing?" He walked closer to her, keeping his eyes on his partner.

"Just a little confused." She looked away when she felt herself get teary eyed again. She never liked for people to see her cry.

Davis noticed it immediately, pulling her into a tight hug. "Hey Grace, it'll be okay. Finney has a hard head ya know."

She looked up, wiping some tears that accumulated on her face. "I'm worried for his family." She paused, looking down at Finney and back up at him. "First his mother's house is burned down, then he gets beat up. Who is doing this?"

Davis arched his eyebrow, stepping back. "I don't know, but we'll find out. It's a matter of time before they screw up."

"I gotta go tell his mother if she's awake. Maybe his family is up there with her."

"You want me to come?" Davis asked, knowing how hard of a task that could be.

"If you want." She really hoped he would. Having someone else there to help took some of the pressure off when the awkward silence hit.

It seemed like her room was miles away. The anticipation was killing both of them. They were both unsure of how Mrs. Finney would act, seeing as neither of them knew her that well. The hallway seemed so long and narrow, like every step they took was moving the door farther and farther away. Davis reached in to open the door, gripping the metal handle tightly. To their luck she was awake, and Bryce was sitting by her bedside.

He stood up quickly. Grace was amazed at how much he looked and acted like Finney, almost made her want to jump back. She wasn't sure if Davis was going to break the ice so she just stood one step back behind him, waiting.

Bryce stared at them, frowning. "What's going on?"

Davis walked closer to both of them. "Sit down Bryce, it's ok."

"You two come in here in the middle of the night, saying everything is ok." He sat back down. "Something happened to Brendan didn't it?"

Davis looked at Mrs. Finney then down to Bryce. "He got assaulted tonight. Grace found him outside of his apartment door. He's okay, he's resting right now." His eyes quickly averted to Marion, who remained silent but he could tell she was very upset by this just by the way her breathing had suddenly changed.

Grace was somewhat thankful that Davis was handling all the talking, but she knew she at least needed to say something. "It's okay Mrs. Finney." She grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly. "He'll be okay."

Davis turned back to Bryce, feeling as if someone had just punched him in the stomach. He wanted to ask Bryce some questions but he knew now wasn't the right time, not when he was angry the way he was. "If you guys need anything, just let us know." Davis turned to walk out, waiting for Grace to exit first.

"At least we got that out of the way." Davis said. "What are you gonna do the rest of the evening?"

Grace stared down the hallway, remaining quiet as she thought about it. "Probably stick around her so when Finney wakes up I can see him."

Davis nodded. "Yeah, so we can get some questions answered and get whoever is doing this."

* * *

Finney slowly opened his eyes, feeling an extreme headache take over his body. He felt light blister his pupils, all the way to the very back of his sockets, so he tightly shut his eyelids again, feeling an instant burn. He wasn't even sure where he was, all he knew is he was in pain. He tried rolling over on his side, his lower back was also screaming at him. He could barely move his body, it seemed every time he even thought about moving his body said no.

Slowly, he fluttered his eyes back open, not sending as much of a shock to them. Things were blurry at first, but just from the smell he knew exactly where he was. In a hospital bed, the last place he wanted, or needed to be. He rubbed his eyes but that only made his vision worse, and also made his head throb. He tried to think of how he got here, for some reason his mind was playing tricks on him. He shifted his weight, letting out a low grunt. Maybe his memory would come back and blindside him, as for right now it was a complete blank.

"Brendan?"

He looked to his left, seeing Grace standing over him. "Grace." His voice was raspy from his throat being dry. It even hurt to talk.

She grabbed the pitcher beside his bed, pouring him a glass of water. "You want something to drink?"

He nodded, reaching up and grabbing the styro-foam cup. He drank it down, feeling the ice cold water trickle all the way down to his stomach, making him feel better almost instantly. He handed it back to her, motioning for more. 'Maybe she knows what happened,' he thought as he waited for more water.

"What am I doing here Grace? What happened?" He felt like an idiot asking that, but his curiosity was running a mile a minute.

She handed him the cup again, watching him drink like he had never had water before. "You don't remember?"

He shook his head no, waiting for her to enlighten him.

"I found you outside of your apartment door last night. Someone had beaten you up."

Suddenly the memory came back, flooding his mind as if someone opened up floodgates. He saw the man standing over him, beating him, and he was unable to do anything back. He closed his eyes, and all he could see was that man's arrogant smile haunt him. "Oh my God," He whispered.

"What?" Grace knew that he now remembered. "Do you remember what the guy looked like?"

Finney nodded. "Yeah I do." He fought his body, sitting up. "I gotta get outta here. I'm wasting time." He reached for the IV that was stuck in his hand, pulling it out.

"Finney, you can't leave, the doctor hasn't released you yet."

Finney looked at her as if she was something he had never seen before. "Like I said, I'm wasting my time. The longer I stay in this bed the longer whoever is doing this is out there, planning more stuff against my family. I can't allow that." He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, scanning the room for his clothes. "Where are my clothes?" He finally found them in the bathroom, putting them on quickly.

She stepped in front of him as he made his way to the door. "This isn't smart Brendan, you could still need medical attention."

"It isn't smart to let someone run all over my family either."

* * *

Finney wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do about this, he just knew that he couldn't be at the hospital right now. Flashes of what happened the night before kept clouding his memory, like a heavy haze on a humid morning.

His body ached from the harshness sent to it only hours before, but he didn't care. That wasn't going to stop him from finding the culprit behind this. The man had said something about his father and his past, so now he was really curious as to what this man was doing in his life.

_"Even in death your father's sins come back to bite people in the ass."_

Finney shuttered, thinking about those words that echoed through his mind. His father's sins? He didn't even want to get started on that subject. His father's sins could open up so many things not even pertaining to this. Was this man a cop that his father associated with back in the 70's? He shook his head, if only he had the man's name.

He leaned his head against the window of the subway car, closing his eyes as he felt it rock back and forth on the track, making it's way back towards his apartment. A few people sitting across from him stopped to stare, seeing his tattered face, but went back to their own business when they saw he wasn't in the best of moods. He needed to plan out what he was going to do, he couldn't just remain silent anymore and wish this all away. It was happening, no matter how much he denied it.

The train came to a halt at his stop, the sound on the overhead speaker interrupted his thoughts as he got up, waiting as the doors slid open, and the next rush of people either got off or got on, hurrying before the doors closed again, leaving the slow ones behind, only to wait for the next one to come along. He pushed through a few people as he made it to the steps taking him back up to street level as his body fought against him, where already his nerves came into play.

Everywhere around him he looked, seeing if anyone out of the ordinary was around, but it was New York, that seemed to happen around every corner. He scanned intersections, trying to see if anyone like that man was around, but nothing came up. 'My luck,' he thought. When he actually wanted the man around he was nowhere to be found.

He entered his apartment, leaning against the door and sliding to the floor after he shut it. He put his head in his hands, almost feeling the urge to pull his hair out. He was so frustrated to the point that he wanted to scream out. He took in a deep breath, trying to stand up. Grabbing a bottle of water, he downed a few ibuprofen to try and cure the headache he was having.

His heart skipped a beat when he felt his cell phone vibrate. He grabbed it quickly, seeing it was Bryce. "Hello?"

"They are letting mom go home. We are going to her sister's house."

Finney licked his lips, not sure if he liked that or not. At least in the hospital she was somewhat safe from who was doing this. "I'll meet you guys over there." With that he closed his phone, going out the door.

When he got there they had already arrived; his mother was leaning back in a recliner, drinking some water. She looked scared to see him, being caught off guard by the way he looked.

"Brendan, what are you doing out of the hospital?"

He shook his head, standing beside her chair. "I'm not doing any good laying in that bed. How are you feeling?"

She put her hand up, motioning him away. "Physically I'm fine." She leaned in, lowering her voice. "Mentally I want to know what the hell is going on." He could tell by the look on her face she was very worried, the way her brow was creased and the way her voice was. But after what they had been through, who wouldn't be?

He shifted his weight, pausing. "I'm working on that mom, it'll be ok." Deep down he knew it was going to get worse before it got any better, but he was ready now, more than ever.

* * *

Grace was happy that the day was a slow one. She had so much on her mind, with Finney's family having the major problems it was having she just couldn't concentrate on much of anything. She was glad to see the clock hit 11:00, and since it was a slow day there wasn't much paperwork and she was out the door by 11:20.

She gave a small wave to Carlos and Holly as she walked down the stairs to her car. The night air was soothing to her skin as she got in, slowly turning the key in the ignition. The radio instantly came on, blaring some pop song by Gavin Degraw. She turned the knob as she backed out of her spot, also thankful that the traffic wasn't bad.

"Tonight is going to be a good night," she said to herself as she merged into a lane.

It was weird, she was practically the only car out on the road. Normally, even at 11 PM it was a little busier, but she wasn't going to complain. That's when a black, f-150 Ford truck pulled out from a side street, following behind her closely. She tapped her brakes, hoping maybe she'd send a clue that she didn't want to be followed that closely but it didn't phase the driver, they just stayed right up on her.

Growing frustrated, she sped up a little. "Jesus! Would you get off of my ass!" In the back of her mind she knew that you weren't supposed to speed up in a situation like this but she was already on edge as it was, and this wasn't helping.

That's when the truck rammed into the back of her car, causing her body to jolt back from the impact. She lost control for a moment, but grabbed the steering wheel tightly, putting it back into the right lane. "Oh my god! What is your problem!" She yelled as if the driver could hear her. The car rammed her again, but this time she wasn't so lucky.

The car turned sideways, being pushed into the opposite lane, the lane that oncoming traffic would be coming into. She felt the car come to a screeching halt, and saw that the truck stopped on the curb, waiting, watching for whatever was to happen next. She was in so much shock at the moment that she couldn't think to try and get the car out of the lane.

She looked from the black truck, back to in front of her, seeing headlights coming quickly. Before she could even register what was happening the car hit her, causing her car to spin in a complete 180, ending up 50 feet from it's original spot. The sounds of metal clanking together could be heard, as well as some screams from the other car. Then everything drastically went silent as each vehicle finally came to a complete stop.

Grace felt the warm blood pouring from her forehead as she closed her eyes. Her head pounded hard, but not as hard as her heart was when she saw the driver of the black truck get out, walking towards her car. She tried to open her door to get out, but her body wouldn't cooperate, besides that the damage was so bad the door wouldn't even open.

The man reached in, grabbing her neck tightly, his hot breath went down her neck as he smiled. "You tell Junior that if he wants to finish this to meet me at 5-8-9-6 89th street. We'll be waiting. Make sure you tell him." He then let go, shoving her head into the headrest and walking off, leaving both cars in the middle of the road, waiting for someone else to discover the accident. Grace fought her body but in a matter of moments fell unconscious, leaving her life in the fate of whoever would stumble across this wreck.

TBC….

**_Just like to say again, thank you to all of you who have been patient with this story since it has taken me so long to update. Thanks for replying and reviewing, you guys truly are great to hear from. I appreciate it so much and happy reading/writing! Chapter six is soon to come!_**


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